The Trick Is To Keep Breathing
by Wyntermajik
Summary: Opening the door, he lays a hand encouragingly against her back for support and whispers, “You can breathe, now.”


**!IMPORTANT!:** I've recently started up an LJ community (that will spread past LJ, I assure you) to write a collaborated HP fanfic. Now, I know that you all are Twilight readers and probably wouldn't want to be involved in writing that fic but here's what I was thinking about: A Twilight Collaborated Fanfiction. It'll be the same general idea as the Harry Potter one, only...It'll be Twilight instead. If you'd like information to get an idea of what it would be like and if enough people would like to help out then I'd LOVE to start it up! Information on what it would be like can be found collaboratefic on LJ. Just go to and enter " collaborationfic" in the username search bar. Everything on that site will be the same as the Twilight one if I start it. The only change will be the fanmix part. Anywhoz, have fun reading and let me know if you enjoyed it! (:

**Disclaimer:** If I owned it, it'd be more sappy and less interesting. XD And Jack's Mannequin owns the song. If you'd like to hear it, PM me and I'll send you a link to hear it. :

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**The Trick Is To Keep Breathing**_  
_

_"You can breathe, you can breathe now  
You can breathe, but the air is running out  
You can breathe, you can breathe now  
You can breathe, but the air is running out on you"_

The way her chest shakes with every breath is heart-breaking. Her ribs seem to tremble more than her hands which look as if they're just seconds away from shattering in the freezing cold weather of Forks. Pale pink lips have become a deep shade of blue and chapped while her hair lays limp against her face. Every inch of her being is dripping with the rain that has long since soaked through her clothing and into her bones. Slowly, he reaches for her hand to lead her to the car. It's warm there and the air there isn't frozen solid like out in the devastated parking lot.

Opening the door, he lays a hand encouragingly against her back for support and whispers, "You can breathe, now."

_"You waited for me in the rain  
In the parking lot  
Cold hands, lips blue  
Clothes stuck to you  
You could have phoned me for a ride  
It's a mess out there  
you said the rain's the rain  
Some air'd be good for you  
(you can breathe, you can breathe now)  
Well good for you  
(you can breathe, but the air is running out)"_

The parking lot had been empty for the last couple of years. The sporting good shop had gone out of business a few years after Mike Newton had died. She had been gone by the time the lock had clicked shut for the final time and as she looked at the building before her she could only wonder where she had gone wrong. The water stains ran from top to bottom mostly hidden under layers of moss and devilish greenery. The weeds sprouting from between the cracks of the pavement had never lasted long enough to become the jungles that they now were when Mike had been around. She could remember Monday afternoons when he'd talked about how boring his Sunday had been due to his need to de-weed the lot and keep up with the building. For an hour she stood there, watching the moss catch the clear drops and soak them in defiantly as though reminding them that nothing could defeat the greenery of Washington. She'd soaked in the rain, too. Her clothes are sticking to her body like a second skin and are releasing the smell of outside into his car.

The lightning cracks like a violent whip on the sky and she looks up and out of the window at the streak of bright light before turning her head downward again to feel the warm air blasting from the air conditioner before her. His dark eyes watch her patiently as he mulls over all the things he wishes he could say to her in this moment. He wants to ask her why she left, where she'd gone, how it had been, what she'd done while she was away, if she knew what Charlie had been forced to go through, how Forks had suffered after the loss of so many young people, if she even cared… But, looking at those quivering blue lips, frozen-solid hands and the layers upon layers of clothes that were glued to her skin he simply settled for, "You could have called the house. Even if I wasn't there, someone would have come to get you."

Only the sound of warm air could be heard.

"It's not smart to stand out in the rain like that. It's just barely above freezing, out there."

She leans forward to adjust the heat but says nothing.

"…Bella, are you-?"

"The rain is the only thing that's stayed the same… Some of that new air'd be good for me."

_ "You get in my car  
Where its warm  
You cannot forget  
skin new, hands true  
My hands all over you  
so whats another night  
The seats rolled back  
We can't see through  
The rains the rain  
Some air'd be good for you"_

Her eyes glance at every weed, every stain, every lock and bolt and sign on the door while the scent of rain and her sweet perfume sweep through the circulating air of the car. She looks longingly at the building raiding her mind to bring back the picture of what it used to be and how it'd felt to wander down those aisles pointing out things to new customers and idly chatting with Mike when business had been slow. She tries to find his voice -slow, sweet and soft- in her memory but only finds quick flashes of his face, his smile, his hands reaching out to help her from the ground. She glances at her hand, turns it over and wags her fingers just a bit. Her bones ache from the cold and the tips of her fingers are stained with pale blue and dark red and they shake even after she's done making them do it.

She turns and reaches out for the collar of his coat to pull him closer and pauses for only a moment before placing her freezing lips against his pleasantly warm ones. He resists only momentarily before pressing forward just a bit as a sign of wanton and welcome. Her tongue is the only warm part of her body and it pleads for warmth from him as his hands move to slide her soaking coat off of her shoulders and to pull her cardigan over her head. The air conditioner blasts now against the cold flesh of her side and warming her with the help of his large heated hands. Every touch sends her blood boiling and creates an euphoria beneath her skin.

From the position they rested against each other in, she could hardly see the mess of what had been; only the rain and the cloudiness their shared air had created on the windows.

_ "You can breathe, you can breathe now  
You can breathe, but the air is running out  
You can breathe, you can breathe now  
You can breathe, but the air is running out on you"_

They lay against each other, breathing heavily and watching the rain slide down the windows of the car and into the moss covering the building. The air conditioning is sputtering with even more heat and the cloudy windows are clearing. Her quivering ribs have quieted like a baby having been sedated and finally she can breathe.

_ "And you walked for miles down  
The shores of California to the  
Coast of Mexico where you could hide  
And no one'd have to know" _

She whispers about how she had run from it all as her head rests against his chest. Her voice shakes and strengthens and catches with every other sentence and her breathing becomes steady and relaxed. The beaches of California, she says, have sand so soft that your bed feels like rocks in comparison and Mexico had felt so welcoming for so long and not a single person knew but her.

_ "(And Maybe, we were made for each other)  
(You can breathe but the air is running out)  
(And Maybe, the world'll look like this forever)  
(And Maybe, we were made for each other)  
(You can breathe but the air is running out)  
(And Maybe, the world'll look like this forever)  
(And Maybe, we were made for each other)  
(And Maybe, we were made for each other)"_

The darkness of the room surrounds her as he prepares to close the door. She remembers how dark it had been that night when she'd quietly shoved her belongings in that thick brown case and tossed it out of the window. The air had been thick and frozen like tonight and it seemed as though it had never warmed. The warmth of California had never truly sunk in and her lungs had stayed frozen all through Mexico, aswell but with him… Things were back to normal and she mused over the world staying as warm as it was those hours before as his hands roamed her back and as her bare stomach rested against his. Perhaps, she mused, her safe place to hide had been in Forks all along.

The last thread of light from the hall almost disappeared before she called him back.

Bella took a deep breath as his head peaked around the corner, "Thank you for the air, Jake…"

----- **End**-----

**Did you like it?**

If you did, then maybe you should head over to community. livejournal. com / twilightsongfic and read the other entry for June's Twilightsongfic competition and then vote for which you like the most! And, if you're a songfic writer, maybe you should even look into entering July's contest. ;


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